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Understand the four components of making good decisions

At the age of 24 I had some big decisions to make. I had just been promoted to my first senior management role. I had to make my mark… I had to show that I was worthy of the promotion.

I was also faced with a lot of different decisions to make. The types of decisions I had never faced before and that would define my success in my new role.

To cut a long story short… I messed up big-time and, to put it bluntly, I failed in the role.

What I needed was a set of clear guidelines that would help me make better decisions every time.

Imagine how much better your life would be if you ‘got it right’ more often.

Here is the advice I would give to my 24 year old self, maybe it might help you too…

Everything in your life is a reflection of a choice you have made. If you want a different result, then make a different choice.

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Make Decisions!

I realise this might sound ridiculous and simple, but one of the biggest problems I faced was being decisive. I wanted the perfect answer. I wanted to understand every possible perspective and unearth every single fact, before committing to a course of action. This isn’t going to happen… ever!

Don’t let issues build and build. They turn into mountains very quickly, so dealing with problems early is dramatically easier in the long run. This doesn’t mean you ignore gathering information. Of course you have to have an idea what you are dealing with, just don’t procrastinate… be bold, be brave… ACTION IS BETTER THAN NO ACTION!

Be able to let go

It is absolutely vital that once you have made a decision and taken a course of action, that you review if it is working on a regular basis. If it is not working, then change what you are doing… adapt your decision.

So many people will make a decision and then will stick to that course of action no matter what. Even if the resulting outcome is not what was desired!

The concept that you are perfect in your decision, is an illusion and needs to be let go. The bottom line is you are a human-being and you will make mistakes… however what you can ensure is that you learn from the actions you take and adapt them accordingly, to ALWAYS get the desired outcome.

Don’t be focused on being right… be focused on getting it right.

Ask good questions

The questions we ask ourselves will determine the answers we create.

Ask better questions, get better answers. Most people will have an internal negative dialog that becomes self-fulfilling.

For example, if your internal conversation is based on the fear of getting a decision wrong – then the action you would take will be very different from the actions you would take if your internal thoughts are about how fantastic life would be when it has been resolved perfectly.

The questions I ask myself consistently are:

What decision will make me feel the best?
What decision will be the best for the people around me?
What decision will be the best for the wider world?
What decision will I be proud of?

When making your next big decision, write down these four questions and answer them. When you have finished you will have a greater insight as to the right thing to do.

Copy other peoples success!

Whatever decision you have to make in your life, there will be someone in the world who has performed brilliantly in that area.

We are more connected, in this day and age, than we have ever been before. Get on the internet, locate the experts, find out what they do and replicate it…

The hardest way to solve any problem or make any decision is to start from scratch, without any support or advice.

Starting from scratch is deliberately putting yourself at a disadvantage for no good reason. Find out what the best in the world do, then role-model that! The best in the world aren’t magic, they aren’t super-human, they have a process.

Learn the process, apply the process, get good results from that process!